Protective cover for sewer grates

ABSTRACT

A protective cover for sewer grates comprising a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending bars having a plurality of transversely exending bars adjustably secured thereto and extending therebetween. The longitudinally extending bars are at least partially received in openings formed in the sewer grate and have their upper opposite ends tapered to prevent snow removal equipment from catching thereon. The transversely extending bars are selectively adjustably slidably received by the longitudinally extending bars so that the cover can be used on sewer grates having various dimensions. Bolt members extend downwardly through the transversely extending bar members and have washer elements positioned on the lower ends thereof which engage the sewer grate bars to maintain the protective cover in position. Nuts are mounted on the lower ends of the bolts.

United States Patent [1 1 Paasch [451 Oct. 28, 1975 v PROTECTIVE COVERFOR SEWER GRATES [76] Inventor: Harold R. Paasch, 405 Sharon [52] US. Cl52/180; 52/202 [51] Int. Cl .5. E041 15/06 [58] Field of Search 52/202,186, 667, 665,

577,000 4/1946 United Kingdom 16/86.1

Primary Examiner-Ernest R. Purser Assistant Examiner-Henry RaduazoAttorney, Agent, or FirmZarley, McKee, Thomte &

Voorhees [57] ABSTRACT A protective cover for sewer grates comprising apair of spaced apart longitudinally extending bars having a plurality oftransversely exending bars adjustably secured thereto and extendingtherebetween. The longitudinally extending bars are at least partiallyreceived in openings formed in the sewer grate and have their upperopposite ends taperedto prevent snow removal equipment from catchingthereon. The transversely extending bars are selectively adjustablyslidably received by the longitudinally extending bars so that the covercan be used on sewer grates having various dimensions. Bolt membersextend downwardly through the transversely extending bar members andhave washer elements positioned on the lower ends thereof which engagethe sewer grate bars to maintain the protective cover in position. Nutsare mounted on the lower ends of the bolts.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 3,914,911

PROTECTIVE COVER FOR SEWER GRATES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention pertains to a protective cover and more particularly to aprotective cover for a sewer grate. The narrow wheels of modern bicyclesoften fall through the slots in conventional sewer grates therebycreating a serious safety hazard.

Therefore, it is a principal object of the invention to provide aprotective cover for sewer grates which prevents the wheels of bicyclesfrom falling therethrough.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective cover forsewer grates which can be used on sewer grates having variousdimensions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective cover forsewer grates having means thereon to prevent snow removal equipment fromcatching thereon. 1

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective cover forsewer grates including means for rigidly mounting the same thereon.

A further object of the invention is to provide a protective cover forsewer grates which does not interfere with the flow of watertherethrough.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pro tective cover forsewer grates which is economical of manufacture, durable in use andrefined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention consists in theconstruction, arrangements and combination of the various parts of thedevice, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinaftermore fully set forth, specifically pointed out in the claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the protective cover mountedon a conventional sewer grate:

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conventional sewer grate:

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the protective cover of thisinvention:

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the protectivecover mounted on the sewer grate; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view seen on lines 5--5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The numeral refers generally tothe protective cover of this invention while the numeral 12 refers to aconventional sewer grate. Sewer grate 12 is provided with a plurality oflongitudinally extending bars 14 defining longitudinally extendingopenings 16 therebetween.

Cover 10 comprises a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending bars18 and 20. For purposes of description, bar 18 will be described ashaving opposite ends 22 and 24, upper end 26, and lower end 28. As seenin FIG. 3, bar 18 is provided with tapered portions 30 and 32 at itsupper opposite ends for a purpose to be described in more detailhereinafter. Bar 18 is provided with a plurality of openings 34 formedtherein adjacent the upper end thereof.

For purposes of description, bar 20 will be described as comprisingopposite ends 36 and 38, upper end 40 and lower end 42. Bar 20 isprovided with tapered portions 44 and 46 at its upper opposite ends asseen in FIG. 3. Bar 20 is also provided with a plurality of spaced apartopenings 48 formed therein adjacent the upper end thereof.

The numeral 50 refers to transversely extending bars which areselectively slidably received in one of the openings 34 in bar 18 andone of the openings 48 in bar 20 as seen in FIG. 3. Each of the bars 50is provided with a bolt opening 52 formed therein adapted to receive oneof the bolts 54. Washer 56, lock washer 58 and nut are adapted to bereceived on each of the bolts 54.

The sewer grate 12 would ordinarily be removed from the opening in thestreet to facilitate the installation of the cover 10 thereon. The bars18 and 20 are positioned in a pair of the openings 16 as seen in FIG. 1with the bars 50 extending across the upper surface of the bars 14 asalso seen in FIG. 1. The fact that the bars 50 are slidably received bythe bars 18 and 20 permits the bars 18 and 20 to be moved towards oraway from each other so that the device can accommodate sewer grateshaving various dimensions. The bolts 54 are then extended downwardlythrough the openings 52 with the washers 56 and 58 and nuts 60 beinginstalled on the lower ends thereof. The washers 56 engage the lowerends of adjacent bars 14 as seen in FIG. 5 to positively maintain theprotective cover in the proper position. The sewer grate may then bereinstalled in the opening in the street. I

It can be seen that the bars 50 prevent a bicycle wheel from passingdownwardly through the openings 16 due to the relatively close spacingthereof. The tapered end portions on the bars 18 and 20 prevents snowremoval equipment from catching on the same which could provide aserious maintenance hazard. Thus it can be seen that a protective coverhas been disclosed for a sewer grate which prevents the narrow wheels ofmodern bicycles from falling through the slots or openings in the sewergrate. It can be seen that the protective cover of this inventionaccomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.

I claim:

1. A protective cover for a sewer grate having a plurality oflongitudinally extending spaced apart bars defining elongated openingstherebetween, comprising,

at least first and second elongated bar members adapted to be at leastpartially received in the spaced apart elongated openings in the sewergrate, a plurality of substantially horizontially disposed support barssecured to said first and second bar members and extending therebetweenover the sewer grate, and means for securing the protective cover to thesewer grate, comprising, a bolt means extending downwardly through atleast some of said support means between the. sewer grate bars, a washermeans on the lower end of each of said bolts for engagement with a pairof the sewer grate bars, and a nut means on each of said bolts.

1. A protective cover for a sewer grate having a plurality oflongitudinally extending spaced apart bars defining elongated openingstherebetween, comprising, at least first and second elongated barmembers adapted to be at least partially received in the spaced apartelongated openings in the sewer grate, a plurality of substantiallyhorizontially disposed support bars secured to said first and second barmembers and extending therebetween over the sewer grate, and means forsecuring the protective cover to the sewer grate, comprising, a boltmeans extending downwardly through at least some of said support meansbetween the sewer grate bars, a washer means on the lower end of each ofsaid bolts for engagement with a pair of the sewer grate bars, and a nutmeans on each of said bolts.